Drew Mestemaker passed for 304 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score but it was the Oklahoma State defense that made the difference in the 18th-ranked Cowboys’ 42-28 win over UCF on Saturday afternoon in a Big 12 Conference dustup in Stillwater, Okla.
The Cowboys (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) were up by just six points three minutes into the fourth quarter after a 28-yard field goal by Sam Keltner. Evan Jackson then picked up a fumble from UCF quarterback Keyone Jenkins and ran 28 yards for a touchdown that, after a Mestemaker 2-point conversion run, pushed the Oklahoma State lead to 35-21.
On the ensuing possession the Cowboys’ defense stopped UCF’s Landon Chambers on fourth down and 1 from the Knights’ 34-yard line. Three snaps later, Mestemaker threw a 5-yard TD pass to Wyatt Young with 7:30 to play in the game and Oklahoma State held on for the win, its fourth straight after a season-opening loss to Tulsa.
Mestemaker completed 19 of his 28 passes, with Justin Bowick grabbing a team-best six of those throws for 99 yards.
Jenkins paced the Knights’ offense, throwing for 265 yards and four touchdowns as UCF (3-3, 1-2) dropped its 12th straight road contest.
The Knights struck on their first game possession of the game, driving 42 yards after an Oklahoma State fumble to Jenkins’ 1-yard scoring pass to Grayson Brousseau and a 7-0 lead at the 10:08 mark of the first quarter.
The Cowboys answered with an eight-play, 75-yard march that culminated in Mestemaker’s 11-yard touchdown run with 6:19 to play in the quarter that tied the game at 7-7.
Jenkins’ second TD toss, this one a 12-yard connection with Josh Derry, pushed UCF back to the front at 14-7 with 2:37 still to play in the opening quarter. Oklahoma State swung back, moving 75 yards on 12 snaps, the final a 1-yard run by Morgan McPhaul that evened the score two minutes into the second quarter.
The Cowboys took their first lead when Mestemaker hit Bowick for a 13-yard TD pass with 2:03 to play until halftime. UCF needed just 1:50 of the clock to drive 75 yards to Jenkins’ 3-yard scoring pass to Tyren Hornes send the contest to the half tied at 21-all.
Keltner’s 40-yard field goal halfway through the third quarter put Oklahoma State back on top.
Jenkins passed to Caden Piening for a 4-yard TD with 3:57 left to cap the scoring.